Barbadian hurdler
Ryan Brathwaite (born June 6, 1988)[ 1] is a track and field athlete from Barbados who won the gold medal in the 110 metres hurdles at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin.[ 2] In recognition of his achievements, on September 17, 2009 Brathwaite was given the honour of being an ambassador while formally receiving the title Ambassador His Excellency Ryan Brathwaite.[ 3] [better source needed ]
He is from the Hillaby district in the parish of St. Andrew. Although he shares a birthplace, surname and speciality with Shane Brathwaite , the two are not related.[ 4] [ 5]
Career
He first ran on the world stage at the 2005 World Youth Championships in Athletics , taking the silver medal in the 110 meter hurdles . More success came in regional competition when he won the 2006 CAC Junior Championships . He competed as a senior athlete at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics and he reached the sprint hurdles semi-finals. He also represented Barbados at the 2007 Pan American Games where he finished in fourth place.
Brathwaite set a national record at the 2008 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics , winning his heat in a time of 13.49 seconds and finishing fourth in the final.[ 6] He improved this further at the 2008 Summer Olympics , running 13.38 seconds in the heats. He made it through to the Olympic semi-finals before being knocked out.
He broke a championship record the following year at the 2009 CAC Championships , which he achieved in the semi-finals. However, he was beaten in the final by the reigning Olympic champion Dayron Robles . At the 2009 World Championships in Athletics , neither Robles nor the defending world champion Liu Xiang were present for the final as they withdrew due to injury. Brathwaite took advantage of this, setting a new best of 13.18 in the semi-finals, and he improved to 13.14 to win the gold and become the 2009 world champion. At 21 years old, he was the youngest ever champion for the event.[ 7] After the gold medal, he won at the Memorial Van Damme meeting and closed a successful year with another gold at the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Final .
Personal bests
Event
Result
Venue
Date
Outdoor
110 m hurdles
13.14 s (wind: +0.1 m/s)
Berlin
20 Aug 2009
Indoor
60 m hurdles
7.61 s
New York, New York
29 Jan 2010
Achievements
Year
Competition
Venue
Position
Event
Notes
Representing Barbados
2004
Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships (U-17)
Coatzacoalcos , México
7th (h)
100 m
11.71 s (wind: +1.1 m/s)
1st
100 m hurdles (91.4 cm)
13.20 s w (wind: +2.5 m/s)
2005
CARIFTA Games (U-20)
Bacolet , Trinidad and Tobago
2nd
110 m hurdles (106.7 cm)
14.64 s (wind: -0.7 m/s)
World Youth Championships
Marrakech , Morocco
2nd
110 m hurdles (91.4 cm)
13.44 s (wind: +1.1 m/s)
Pan American Junior Championships
Windsor, Ontario , Canada
5th
110m hurdles (106.7 cm)
14.79 (wind: -1.6 m/s)
2006
CARIFTA Games (U-20)
Les Abymes , Guadeloupe
1st
110 m hurdles (99.0 cm)
13.85 s CR (wind: -1.4 m/s)
Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships (U-20)
Port of Spain , Trinidad and Tobago
1st
110 m hurdles (99.0 cm)
13.69 s CR (wind: +1.6 m/s)
World Junior Championships
Beijing , China
—
110m hurdles (99.0 cm)
DQ
2007
CARIFTA Games (U-20)
Providenciales , Turks and Caicos Islands
1st
110 m hurdles (99.0 cm)
13.42 s CR (wind: +0.2 m/s)
ALBA Games
Caracas , Venezuela
2nd
110 m hurdles
13.91 s (wind: +0.6 m/s)
Pan American Games
Rio de Janeiro , Brazil
4th
110 m hurdles
13.70 s (wind: +0.4 m/s)
World Championships
Osaka , Japan
24th (sf)
110 m hurdles
13.87 s (wind: -0.3 m/s)
Pan American Junior Championships
São Paulo , Brazil
3rd
110m hurdles (99.0 cm)
13.61 (wind: +0.9 m/s)
2008
Central American and Caribbean Championships
Cali , Colombia
4th
110 m hurdles
13.66 s w (wind: +2.3 m/s)
NACAC Under-23 Championships
Toluca , México
2nd
110m hurdles
13.50 (wind: -1.0 m/s) A
Olympic Games
Beijing , China
7th (sf)
110 m hurdles
13.59 s (wind: -0.4 m/s)
2009
Central American and Caribbean Championships
La Habana , Cuba
2nd
110 m hurdles
13.31 s w (wind: +2.5 m/s)
World Championships
Berlin , Germany
1st
110 m hurdles
13.14 s (wind: +0.1 m/s) NR
World Athletics Final
Thessaloniki , Greece
1st
110m hurdles
13.16 (wind: -0.3 m/s)
2010
NACAC Under-23 Championships
Miramar, Florida , United States
2nd
110 m hurdles
13.10 s w (wind: +3.1 m/s)
Central American and Caribbean Games
Mayagüez , Puerto Rico
1st
110 m hurdles
13.39 s
2011
World Championships
Daegu , South Korea
18th (h)
110 m hurdles
13.57 s (wind: +1.0 m/s)
2012
Olympic Games
London , United Kingdom
5th
110 m hurdles
13.40 s
2013
World Championships
Moscow , Russia
14th (sf)
110m hurdles
13.64 (wind: -0.3 m/s)
2014
Commonwealth Games
Glasgow , United Kingdom
5th
110m hurdles
13.63 (wind: -0.3 m/s)
Pan American Sports Festival
Ciudad de México , México
1st
110m hurdles
13.41 A (wind: -0.1 m/s)
See also
References
External links